Hedley Donovan
{{short description|American journalist (1914–1990)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}{{Infobox person
| name = Hedley Donovan
| image = Hedley Donovan, Time Inc., NYC.jpg
| caption = Donovan in 1978 in New York City
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|05|24|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|08|13|1914|05|24|mf=yes}}
}}
Hedley Donovan (May 24, 1914 – August 13, 1990) was editor in chief of Time Inc. from 1964 to 1979. In this capacity, he oversaw all of the company's magazine publications, including Time, Life, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Money, and People. Hand-picked by founder Henry Luce, Donovan redirected the magazine from its historically conservative orientation to a more objective editorial stance, particularly with respect to the Vietnam War.{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DC1630F937A2575BC0A966958260|title=Hedley Donovan Is Dead at 76; Retired Chief Editor of Time Inc.|last=S. Jones|first=Alex |date=1990-08-14|publisher=The New York Times Company|accessdate=2009-03-06}} The Hedley Donovan Award was created in 1999 by the Minnesota Magazines and Publications Association to recognize individuals who have shown outstanding lifelong dedication and contributions to Minnesota's magazine industry.{{cite web |url=http://www.mmpa.net/ |title=About Us: The Minnesota Magazine Publications Association |website=www.mmpa.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010418162440/http://mmpa.net/ |archive-date=2001-04-18}}
Personal life
Donovan was born May 24, 1914, in Brainerd, Minnesota, the son of Percy Williams Donovan and Alice Dougan Donovan.{{Cite news |date=1936-09-13 |title=Rhodes Scholar from State Goes to Africa with Oxford and Cambridge Hockey Teams |pages=54 |work=Star Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105396102/rhodes-scholar-from-state-goes-to/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |via=Newspapers.com}} His father was a mining engineer and his mother was a writer. A member of Delta Upsilon, he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Minnesota in 1934.{{Cite web |last=Toov |first=Rebecca |date=2017-02-24 |title=Hedley Donovan, alumnus, journalist |url=https://libnews.umn.edu/2017/02/hedley-donovan-alumnus-journalist/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=UMN Libraries News & Events |language=en-US}} From 1934 to 1937, he attended Hertford College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He married Dorothy Hannon in 1941. They had 3 children.Hedley Donovan papers, University Archives, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities:http://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/14/resources/5833
Work
Donovan initially aspired to be an academic and was offered a $600 graduate assistantship from Harvard University after leaving Oxford.{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6D9103DF931A25752C1A96F948260|title=WHO HAS TIME FOR SELF-DOUBT?|last=Goldstein|first=Tom |date=1989-11-12|publisher=The New York Times Company|accessdate=2009-03-06}} Dissatisfied with the offer, he decided to pursue a career in journalism. From 1937 to 1942, he worked as a reporter at The Washington Post. Following the United States's intervention in World War II, he was commissioned in the United States Navy Reserve, ultimately attaining the rank of lieutenant commander after three years of active service. In 1945, he joined Time Inc. as a writer with Fortune.
Donovan retired as editor in chief of Time Inc. on June 1, 1979 and was succeeded by Henry A. Grunwald.[https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/02/archives/hedley-donovan-the-chief-at-time-magazine-retires-the-change-on.html Carmody, Deirdre. "Hedley Donovan, the Chief At Time Magazine, Retires," The New York Times, Saturday, June 2, 1979.] Retrieved December 20, 2024. From 1979 to 1980, he served in the Executive Office of the President as a special adviser to Jimmy Carter.
Donovan wrote several books, including a memoir, Roosevelt to Reagan: A Reporter's Encounters with Nine Presidents, published in 1985 by Harper & Row.
Awards
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.c-span.org/video/?10430-1/right-places-right-times Booknotes interview with Donovan on Right Places, Right Times, February 27, 1990.]
{{GeraldLoebAward Memorial Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Hedley}}
Category:People from Brainerd, Minnesota
Category:American male journalists
Category:20th-century American journalists
Category:American Rhodes Scholars
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
Category:Harvard University staff
Category:United States Navy officers
Category:University of Minnesota alumni
Category:Fortune (magazine) people
Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers
Category:20th-century American male writers
Category:Gerald Loeb Memorial Award winners